Parenting Pointers: Back-to-School Survival (and giveaway)

Now that school has been going for a few weeks, you might find yourself in a frenzied dash between field trips, permission slips, packing lunches, extracurriculars, homework, and more. Sometimes it can be hard to juggle everything!

Eight O'Clock Coffee wants to help by offering tips to save time and giving one of my readers a chance to win a survival pack - a drawstring bag, travel mug and 2 bags of Eight O’Clock Coffee to help start your mornings off right! My husband loved the fact that I got to try it out too - he was very happy with the travel mug (since he's the one that commutes to work) and he was also happy with the quality of Eight O'Clock Coffee. To enter, leave your back-to-school survival tip. Giveaway ends October 10th.

Here are four very helpful tips to streamline at least part of your school routine!

TIP 1: Become Your Own Brewista – Save time, money and gas this back-to-school season by brewing your morning coffee at home. You can even set your coffee maker’s timer the night before to wake up to great-smelling Eight O’Clock Coffee.

TIP 2: Preplan Lunch – Sit down with your kids and create a grocery list of healthy snacks and lunches they would like for school. Rotate each of their selections throughout the week. Make Tuesday “Turkey Tuesday” or Wednesday “Wrap Wednesday” – adding variety to keep lunch exciting. When possible, pack their lunch the night before to reduce stress in the morning.

TIP 3: Assemble Weekly Wardrobes – Every Sunday check the upcoming weekly weather forecast with your kids. Then, have them pick out five outfits for the upcoming school week. Hang them in daily order in their closet to avoid the inevitable, “Mom, I can’t find my favorite blue shirt!”

TIP 4: Be Prepared for School Projects – Avoid late night rushing around to complete school projects by having art supplies on hand. Create an arts and craft bin that includes more than just crayons and colored paper. Collect items like pipe cleaners, stickers, figurines, beads – even coffee beans – and other creative finds, and put the fun back in school projects.

Disclosure: I received a Back to School Survival Pack from Eight O'Clock Coffee as a thank-you for writing this post.